Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8894 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-03-17
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 110 minutes

Amazon.co.uk
Spectacular animated action scenes turn the ancient epic poem Beowulf into a modern fantasy movie, while motion-capture technology transforms plump actor Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) into a burly Nordic warrior. When a Danish kingdom is threatened by the monster Grendel (voiced and physicalised by Crispin Glover, River's Edge), Beowulf--lured by the promise of heroic glory--comes to rescue them. He succeeds, but falls prey to the seductive power of Grendel's mother, played by Angelina Jolie... and as Jolie's pneumatically animated form rises from an underground lagoon with demon-claw high heels, it becomes clear that we're leaving the original epic far, far behind. Regrettably, the motion-capture process has made only modest improvements since The Polar Express; while the characters' eyes no longer look so flat and zombie-like, their faces remain inexpressive and movements are still wooden. As a result, the most effective sequences feature wildly animated battles and the most vivid character is Grendel, whose grotesqueness ends up making him far more sympathetic than any of the mannequin-like human beings. The meant-to-be-titillating images of a naked Jolie resemble an inflatable doll more than a living, breathing woman (or succubus, as the case may be). But the fights--particularly Grendel's initial assault on the celebration hut--pop with lushly animated gore and violence. Also featuring the CGI-muffled talents of Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs), Robin Wright Penn (The Princess Bride), and John Malkovich (Dangerous Liaisons). --Bret Fetzer

DVD Description
Robert Zemeckis directs the CGI-animated Beowulf, starring the voices of Angelina Jolie, Ray Winstone and Anthony Hopkins. After destroying the overpowering demon Grendel, Beowulf incurs the undying wrath of the beast's ruthlessly seductive mother, who will use any means possible to ensure revenge. What follows in an epic battle that will resonate through the ages, and immortalise the name of Beowulf.

Special Features:

- A Hero's Journey: The making of Beowulf
- Beowulf: Mapping the Journey. Production Pods Gallery
- The Origins of Beowulf
- Beast of Burden- Designing the creatures of Beowulf
- The art of Beowulf
- Creating the ultimate Beowulf
- Additional Scenes

Synopsis
Using the same CGI technique as his film The Polar Express, Robert Zemeckis directs this adaptation of Beowulf and Grendel's legendary story. Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, and Ray Winstone voice the epic heroes and villains with a script from Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary.

Customer Reviews

I rather enjoyed it - but I did think it was a bit gory for a 12 rating
Being a Noggin the Nog fan at 6, I naturally warmed to the Beowulf saga as a teen. Plus I enjoyed John Gardner's 'Grendel' novel as a student, where the Beowulf story is retold from Grendel's perspective: "His mother is totally incommunicative. In fact, his only real friends are the Danes he kills. Still, he knows he is dependent on Hrothgar's survival. If I murdered the last of the Scyldings, he muses, what would I live for?".

When I found out the writer of the book 'Stardust' was helping to produce two movies, 'Stardust' and 'Beowulf', I knew I had to see them at the cinema. I took my son (11) to see both ('Stardust' was great). However, although my son enjoyed the film (well the two main action bits anyway), I did feel Beowulf was rather violent for just a 12 rating - this is one of the few films where I was actually shocked at one point. Beowulf fights Grendel without any clothes to prevent his armour hindering him, and there are articles placed about the mead hall that conveniently hide any obviously male bits from the viewer - and this overt coyness irritatingly distracts you from the horror that's unfolding - i.e. Grendel's attack (after that Beowulf faces Grendel's mother in a loin cloth - not that he needed it then). When Grendel breaks in to the banqueting hall, looking frankly a bit too decayingly revolting, he proceeds to bite off the heads of the hapless Dane warriors and spray them up the wall (but that apparently isn't as disturbing as a PC generated male figure in the buff - although even the Crazy Frog was anatomically correct on kids TV, and Bart Simpson for that matter). Granted my son didn't seem perturbed by the graphic violence, but a 12 rating can bring in kids of any age with their dads. It doesn't look quite so shocking on the small screen via DVD, but be warned if your young preteen sons want to watch this movie (I found this aspect slightly worse than similarly 12 rated King Kong, also a great movie otherwise). However for a 9+ audience all should be fine, and on the big screen this film is probably less disturbing for little ones than PG rated Jurassic Park.

Otherwise I loved the movie (other than wishing Grendel had inherited his mothers, fathers and step-brothers good looks). The change to the story and Grendel's family tree/mothers fate was fine (it made Beowulf more vulnerable and so an even greater hero in overcoming his shame to defeat the avenging fire dragon). The mix of accents didn't worry me (who wants a Danish `allo allo', and Beowulf and Hrothgar are from very different settlements anyway, being born in Sweden and Denmark respectively). Plus Anthony Hopkins [Hrothgar], Brendan Gleeson [Wiglaf], Angelina Jolie [Grendel's mum] and John Malkavich [Unferth] provide superb support for Ray Winstone's Beowulf. The PC animation was pretty good if a little stilted occasionally, and I could certainly see the attraction of Grendel's mother (killing her looked a heck of lot harder). Perhaps I would have preferred a live action `Conan the Barbarian' style version, as much of the fighting and monsters would have been the same CGI anyway, but I was impressed with Beowulf the great Nordic warrior, he cut a believable tough heroic figure and the film evoked well the tragedy of his plight as he goes from hero to zero, and back again. Besides, any Beowulf is better than nothing and this was a good stab at the story. The original poem is a long slog anyway, but worth scanning through - you can find it on the web for free. Also try Gardner's Grendel, and Seamus Heaneys poetical interpretation `Beowulf' (it's more than a translation and has the original alongside to compare). The original Beowulf isn't impossible to read, and rather like Mallory's Morte d'Arthur it puts you closer to those of the era if you read it as written down.

I didn't actually notice much had changed in the director's cut other than the fight scenes are noticeably more gory than the movie release, but this doesn't actually detract from the film at all and does add a bit more gritty realism - after all Grendel and his mum are the stuff of nightmares. However those watching with their sons might opt for the standard release. As usual I haven't watched the extras yet, other than the `making off' which was interesting, showing how the live actors helped the CGI movements - and it made you wish the actors were in the film when you see every nuance of their real facial expressions. But otherwise a pretty good movie.

a hero will come
A fantasy movie based on the old epic story of beowulf, which was pretty much the first thing to be written down in the english language. This is a new take on the story - about a warrior who battles a monster called grendel - and is quite an interesting updating, although purists probably won't be that pleased.

In the first half of the film beowulf battles grendel, then grendel's seductive mother. as a result of this his actions come back to haunt him years later, when he's an old king longing for his glory days. the second section of the film is mildly stronger as it's a nice meditation on growing old and harking back to things that used to be. As a fantasy movie it's very good rather than great and rates 7.5/10.

the big selling point of the movie is that it's done with computer animation and stop motion capture. thus real actors played the characters and the computer versions you see on screen were animated based on their performances. the effects are interesting, as they look almost but not quite lifelike. the human figures are very good, the monsters superb, but a lot of long shots and horse riding and the like look more like cheap model work.

Still it's an interesting experiment and worth a look for that.

This is a DIRECTORS CUT but apart from a few scenes that are slightly longer and bloodier than in the cinema version I could see no difference.

The second disc comes with the following extras:

a twenty five minute long making of documentary. fascinating to watch, when you see what the actors went through for the stop motion process, wearing jumpsuits and markers on their face and in minimal sets. Oddly, angelina jolie is conspicuous by her absence from this and all the other features.

There are ten short films about life on the set and what went on there, all running roughly two minutes. these are interesting for the same reasons as the main making of

A short feature about the origin of the story of beowulf. interesting history, but a feature that could do with being a bit longer

two six minutes features on the design of the film and of the monsters. these are short but interesting.

and a two minute feature on the main character and the casting of the part. interesting but brief.

there are subtitles and language tracks in pretty much every language out there.

Quite a good film, and a very good package for it